This was a very touching and wrenching film. It is indeed hard to watch because everyone is so dismissive of Umberto. But people can be like that, especially in desperate times, such as post war Italy when all the money was going to rebuild churches, not feed people. Better for proud hard working Umberto to put on a brave face and quietly disappear so nobody has to worry about him or be concerned about him. At the end he did find that he and Flike still had each other, this little dog didn't care if Umberto had any pride left or not, he loved him just the same. And Umberto needed him to be reminded of the simple joys in life. A very profound and moving film.
Review of Umberto D.
